UPDATE: Alvin Bragg’s Office Requests Delay of Trump’s Manhattan Case

Update – 1:25 pm Eastern:

A docket notation on the New York Supreme Court’s website regarding President-elect Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal case early Tuesday morning appeared to indicate Judge Juan Merchan would be postponing sentencing in the case, per reports from Bloomberg. 

While Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office subsequently told Fox News that was an automated schedule alert rather than a formal action by Merchan, Bragg’s office has now filed a letter with the court requesting that the case be formally adjourned to allow time for Trump’s legal team to file an additional motion to dismiss based on the unique circumstances in play given Trump’s reelection and impending inauguration. 

Bragg’s office intends to oppose that motion but is asking the court to set a motion schedule to accommodate the filing of the motion and the prosecution’s response. As of this writing, Merchan has not ruled on the prosecution’s request, but presumably, the request will be granted. We will continue to monitor and provide an update as soon as one becomes available.

Original Story: 

In yet another interesting twist in the legal sagas involving President-elect Donald Trump, Judge Juan Merchan has postponed sentencing in the Manhattan criminal case. Initially, the expectation was that Merchan would rule last Tuesday on the presidential immunity issue, with sentencing to follow next Tuesday (November 26). 

In May, a jury found the former/future president guilty on 34 felony counts related to falsified business records. Then, in July, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling on presidential immunity, which Trump’s legal team then raised in a post-trial motion. 

However, ahead of last Tuesday’s anticipated ruling on the immunity issue, Merchan postponed it by a week in response to a joint request for a stay by Alvin Bragg’s office and Trump’s attorneys. Additionally, Merchan instructed the prosecution to file its “view of appropriate steps going forward” by 10:00 a.m. today.

Judge Merchan Weighs in on Presidential Immunity in Trump Business Records Case

Now, however, Judge Merchan has adjourned the scheduled hearing on sentencing without further explanation. 

Donald Trump’s sentencing for 34 criminal charges in the state of New York was abruptly adjourned by the court Tuesday without explanation, giving the presiding judge additional time to weigh how to proceed. 

The delayed sentencing came on the same day that District Attorney Alvin Bragg was slated to file a recommendation to Judge Juan Merchan on how to proceed.

George Washington University School of Law professor and Fox News legal analyst Jonathan Turley weighed in on the news on X, waxing Shakespearean in the process:

…”To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles.”

— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) November 19, 2024

Bloomberg is reporting that the court has again postponed any decision in the Trump case in Manhattan. This is now the longest performance of Hamlet in history as Judge Merchan continues to debate whether to be or not to be a sentencing judge in the Trump case…

…”To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles.”

Indeed, the move leaves more questions than answers. How long will the decision(s) be delayed? With Trump’s inauguration just two months away, will Merchan kick this can down the road indefinitely? 

This is a developing story. We’ll continue to monitor it and bring you any updates as they become available. 

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